Buckle.



nn srnrns PATENT enrich.

FRA-NK P. TENNEY, or NEW YORK, N..Y Assienoa To UNITED mirroir/COMPANY,A coRPoRA'rIoN or New Yoan.

l BUCKLE. y

Specification of Letters Patent.

A-ppneaaon niemeer-nary 15, 1908.. shaman-116,010

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that i, FRANK P. TENNEY, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city of New York,county of New York, and

State of New York, have invented certain new and us'eful Improvements inBuckles', of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates generally to buckles and is moreparticularly designed as an improvement on the construction shown inLetters Patent No. 710,641 of 'OctoberV 7,.

ln the patent above referredV to these opposed prongs on the frame andgrip were located in alinement with each other, and without overlapping.It has been found that if the cloth or other material is heavy it willnot be possible to close the grip properly owing to the short distancebetween the opposed prongs.

The characteristic feature of the present invention resides instaggering these prongs and in having a greater number of prongs on oneside than on the other. The arrangement is preferably such that forevery prong on one side there are two prongs on the other side so thatthe cloth or other material is gripped at three points as it were in anumber of places. The fact that the prongs are staggered allows ampleroom for the cloth and the fact that the prongs are more numer.

ous on one side than on the other insures a firm hold on the material. Y

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that when the gripis closed the prongs carried thereby are in a plane different from thatof the prongs on the frame, whereby a heavy thickness of material can beaccommodated.

Another feature of value resides in bending up the sides ofthe forwardportion of the sheet metal frame to form bearings for the grip and inproviding the frame with an eX- f tension at an angle to the mainportion of the frame so as to produce a holding guide for the end of thestrap or material held by the prongs of the frame and grip.

In the accompanying drawing the invention is embodied in a concrete andpreferred `claims may of course rial is held by the prongs.

form but such changes of construction as come within the scope of theappended y e made wit out departing from the legitimate and intendedscope of the invention.

Imthe said drawings'i Figure 1 is a plan -view oi 2a buckle embodyingthe invention `witlr the grip in its closed position. 11s a sectionalview on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3 is a planview similar to Fig. 1.but partly broken away showinghow the mate- Fig. l is a section on the line 4 4 ol' Fig. 3 with thegripV in its open position. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the irregularline 5 5 of Fig. 3 with the grip in its closed position.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thedifferent views.

1 indicates a frame, which may be of any convenient configuration,provided with the inwardly extending blunt prongs 2. Mounted on thepivots 3 is the grip 4 provided with a lurality of prongs 5 5, 6 6 and 77 Iin the manufacture of the buckle, the frame is preferably stamped outof a flat blank, and the sides at the forward portion of the frame arethen turned up at right angles to form bearings for the pivots of thegrip, this causing a twist 11, inthe rearward portion of the frame.

8 indicates a stop for limiting the closing movement of the grip, and 9indicates a swelling on the frame which is intended to produce frictionwhen the grip is being moved into its closed position. The rearward endof the frame is provided with an extension 10 which forms a holdingguide for the end of the strap held by the frame and grip. Thisextension is formed integral with the main portion of` the frame, thestock being twisted at 11 and the extension being bent at an angle tothe main port1on of the frame so as to facilitate the insertion of theend of the strap.

It will be seen from Fig. 2 that the prongs on the grip are in a planedifferent from the prongs on the frame when the grip is in its closedposition.

When the material is inserted into the buckle and the grip is closed theblunt prongs on the frame and grip will hold the material as indicatedin Fig. 3. As there shown each prong on the frame cooperates with twopron s as 5 5 for instance on the grlp so as to hogld or pinch thematerial at three polnts Patented Aug. 3l, 1909. l

n intervening between 1the prongs of the frame is Very great, ample roomis afforded for the material without unduly {wrinkling the same.

1. Abuckle comprising a'frame and a grip, the latter swinging within theframe, and a plurality of prongs divided into two opposed sets on theframe and'gri'p, but located in different planes when the'grip is in itsclosed position, and the rongs of the two sets being'staggered witrelation to each other the prongs of the two setsV being so arrangedthat between any two adjacent prongs of one set will be a pair of prongsofthe opposite set.

2. A buckle comprising a frame and a grip pivoted in the frame, aplurality of opposed prongs on the frame and grip, the prongs of one set being more widely spaced and of fewer number than the'prongs of theother set, and the prongs of the two sets being arranged in staggeredrelation.

3. A buckle comprising a frame, and a ygrip pivoted in the frame, aplurality of opposed prongs on the frame and grip, the prongs of theopposing sets being arranged so that two prongs of one set will lie be#set.

4f. A buckle comprising a frame, and a grip pivoted in the frame, aplurality of o posed prongs on the frame and grip, `t1e prongs of thetwo sets being arranged in staggered relation, there being twice as manyprongs on the grip as on the frame and two prongs of the grip lyingbetween each two adjacent prongs of the frame and a strap holding guideextending from the rearward portion of the frame.

5. A buckle comprising a frame and a grip pivoted in the frame, aplurality of o posed prongs on the frame and grip, tie prongs of the twosetsl being arranged in staggered relation, there being more prongs onthe grip than on the frame and arranged so that two prongs of the gripwill lie between each two adjacent prongs of the frame.

Signed at New York city, this day of January 1908.

FRANK P. TENNEY.

Vitnesses:

H. J. LEMMER, A. F. WISEBURN.

tween two adjacent prongs of the opposite"

